Des Moines Register: Advertises Kill Zones-Claims Their Stance On Gun Ownership Is Not A Serious Issue

The Des Moines Register, the largest newspaper in the state of Iowa, has come under fire for its article in which they made public a majority of the public schools in their state that do not have resource officers, which does nothing more than tell criminals which schools to target without any resistance at all. While all schools are considered "Gun Free Zones" due to two decades old Federal legislation, we all know criminals don't follow the law. This though, effectively identifies nearly 300 schools in Iowa as easy kill zones for criminals. On top of that, a contact at the Des Moines Register, when asked what the paper's stance on law abiding citizens owning firearms said that it was not a "serious question."

At least 54 Iowa public school districts have a police officer or private security guard stationed at one or more of their schools during some part of the school day, a Des Moines Register survey found.

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Police or sheriff's officers visit and provide security to schools as needed in many of the rest of Iowa's 348 districts on a regular basis.

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Of Iowa's 25 largest school districts, three do not use school resource officers, the survey found.

At first, the story came complete with an interactive map identifying the schools that didn't have resource officers. That has now been removed, but not before citizens gave the Register an earful in complaints, like Ed Thompson's comment in which he stated,

"Apologies will not suffice. Not this time. Children's lives were placed at risk. This is nothing short gross negligence let alone journalistic malpractice. I demanding Editor Green fire those responsible for this article and then follow that with his resignation!"

Rebecca Ann Taylor added, "I do not understand how you can be so reckless and think this is actually newsworthy!"

The Editor of the Des Moines Register, Rick Green, gave a response about the interactive map, saying:

"I'll tell you, nothing is more important to me than protecting the students, school teachers and administrators and safeguarding a community against any kind of violence."

"We got a couple of phone calls from readers who were concerned about a map, took it down immediately, re-adjusted it."

"I'm not going to make the same mistake that has unfortunately plagued some other newsrooms about sensitivity. I try to be fair and responsible and not do anything reckless. I love my job too much."

"I love the role that we play here in Iowa, and I care too much about the safety of school teachers and students to do anything so that people would think we were being reckless and heartless. I just don't operate that way."

Mr. Green says that he cares for the safety of the teachers and students, so why would he allow such an article in a story identifying which had absolutely no protection at all? On top of that, he says that he loves the role the paper plays in Iowa. Well, let's just see how that works out when you actually try and get an answer from them on their position of guns, gun control and gun ownership.

Jim Stachowiak, placed a call to the Des Moines Register and spoke with a man named Lucas. Lucas was prepared to give the editor's statement above presumably, when Stachowiak pointed out that one of their columnists, Donald Kaul had written:

"Declare the NRA a terrorist organization and make membership illegal. Hey! We did it to the Communist Party, and the NRA has led to the deaths of more of us than American Commies ever did. (I would also raze the organization's headquarters, clear the rubble and salt the earth, but that's optional.) Make ownership of unlicensed assault rifles a felony. If some people refused to give up their guns, that 'prying the guns from their cold, dead hands' thing works for me."

Kaul also had written,

"Repeal the Second Amendment, the part about guns anyway. It's badly written, confusing and more trouble than it's worth. It offers an absolute right to gun ownership, but it puts it in the context of the need for a "well-regulated militia." We don't make our militia bring their own guns to battles. And surely the Founders couldn't have envisioned weapons like those used in the Newtown shooting when they guaranteed gun rights. Owning a gun should be a privilege, not a right.

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Then I would tie Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, our esteemed Republican leaders, to the back of a Chevy pickup truck and drag them around a parking lot until they saw the light on gun control."

Lucas then said he could point to "commentary" on that piece, so Stachowiak pressed further and asked him a simple "yes or no" question as to whether or not the paper supported gun ownership by law abiding citizens. Lucas then declared that "These aren't serious questions." He then quickly ended the conversation. You can listen to the brief encounter here.

It appears to me that there is an agenda, much like there was an agenda in New York when The Journal News posted the names and addresses of all gun permit holders in the area.

Most of you know my position on putting police in schools. It is not only growing government, it re-enforces the concept that the public school system is becoming more of a prison, than an education facility. Additionally, it never addresses the people's right and duty to protect themselves and others. This would involve repealing the "Gun Free Zones" legislation and allowing teachers and principals to carry their firearms on school property. I have no love for the public education system, nor for their godless indoctrination and have encouraged parents to do what it take to remove their children from it and homeschool them. However, to do what the Des Moines Register did was not only reckless, but it was completely irresponsible.

Update: Formerly this article referenced Lucas Casey as the Lucas contacted at the Des Moines Register. That information was provided by Mr. Stachowiak. Mr. Casey contacted FreedomOutpost about the reference and we have corrected the article in response. Our apologies.

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